I have two rats, one of which is sneezing frequently the other only rarely. His sneezing seems to be of two types. Type one are shallow, single sneezes that occur during certain periods at a rate (just to give you an indicator, I;ve not measured) of maybe every 15 seconds for maybe a few minutes. The other type is a more worrying sneezing/squeak "fit" - lots of sneezes with a squeaky undertone in quick succession, for maybe up to ten seconds. I've not seen this happening every day, but probably at least every few days I am seeing these "fits".

Is eating, drinking, active etc - only minor discharge around nose (minor in sense of you wouldn't see it unless you were looking for it). Rat telephone only indicates heart beat and a sort of whooshing sound of breathing. It's different to the other rat but it's not obviously concerning.

Took to vet who looked him over and said he seems healthy and his breathing sounds okay. But he's obviously not healthy and I can't help but feel the vet hasn't got a clue.

I have some amoxicillin available that I feel I should soon use. I am reluctant to use it but the online instructions seem fairly straightforward. I have minimal desire to go back to the vet as paying £30 to be told to monitor him is fairly pointless. I could however go back and try to get antibiotics w/o another consultation but is there a need, when I have the amoxi which I could use now?

I have only had these rats for a little while and to be honest so far it's been only upset and stress. Every time he sneezes I rush to the cage wishing he'd stop. I was hoping the vet would help but he found nothing wrong with him and just waffled on about irrelevancies.

That is extremely frustrating to shell out money to the vet and get no help. Sneezing fits are not normal for rats. Is it a wet sounding sneeze? Sometimes sneezing indicates the start of myco or respiratory infection and I feel like the vet shoul have sent you home with antibiotics in case your rat gets worse.

I don't know how much looking around you did when you chose this vet but in my area there are very few who treat rats and mos don't know much about them. I finally found a good vet from asking other rat owners who live in my area who they go to. I found these people via forums and Facebook.

If his chest is clear then I would be inclined to agree with the vet that antibiotics are not required as it is probably not a bacterial infection or it could be a mild infection which may clear up on its own. I don't use antibiotics unless my rats are visibly unwell and/or have a crackly chest. Sneezing is more likely to be an allergy to something. What substrate and litter are you using?

Also, if it does turn out to be a bacterial infection, it's likely to be a flareup of Mycoplasma pulmonis, which amoxicillin will do precisely nothing against. (Amoxicillin kills bacteria by inhibiting cell wall synthesis, and Mycoplasmas don't have cell walls to begin with.) So I wouldn't medicate with that unless you have reason to believe it's not myco.

I find it hard to believe it is an allergy. I've tried rotating several substrates - finacard, auboise and megazorb - makes no difference. Sneezes in the cage, out of the cage, in all rooms etc. I've no air fresheners, body sprays etc - I don't use this stuff. The only time he didn't sneeze is when I took him to the vet, although that was probably only to spite me.

On the other hand, they are mostly "dry" sneezes - no discharge around eyes, absolute minimal around nose that by itself (without the sneezing) I probably wouldn't even have noticed, eating, drinking, active etc.

They are about 16 weeks old.

I don't know what to do. It can't be normal for a rat to be sneezing for 5 weeks - yet there appears to be nothing wrong with him. The other tat also occassionally sneezes but that's like a few times a week, tops.